Bad plumber experience.....any advise will be appreciated....

We had a plumber come out to replace our septic pump that stopped working. He quoted us prices of pumps $300-$400 for cheap, $500 - $600 mid range and high end $700-$800. My husband I decided to go with the high end pump with the install quote + pump equally $1,200. When the installer left my husband took the box and wrote down the model number ect on the manual. Then my husband went online and found out he installed the $400 pump. When we called to inquire he had to call us back after talking to his installer. On his call back he only agreed to return $180 which he said was the difference in the "list price" he paid for the pump (stating that he could not purchace the pump for that 'online price'. Also, he provided us an itemized receipt with a bunch of misc detailed charges for items.... he did not mention when giving us the quote.

Two months later the alarm kept going off so we called to have him come back to find out why. He said there must have been something faulty with the pump and put in a new one. (looking back we should have had him put in the one he quoted) A week later we called him back stating our alarm keeps going off. On that call be mentioned that our pump was not under warranty because the manufacture found several femine products in the pump. My husband is the only one to uses this toilet.... other than the 4 women who visited for less than 24 hours. All four women I call and verified that they did not have their periods while staying at our house. The pumper said that we had not proof of that and would be sending out a bill.

We were leaving on vacation to CA and the plumber did not come out to look at the alarm issue so we turned the water off to our house. We left several message for the plumber to call us but resorted to calling a contact who got him to call us back once returning from CA.
At that time he had someone come out to adjust the float. We still have the alarm going off occasionally. He mailed us a bill for $400 for the pump and $300 for installation for the replacement pump equalling $700.

We feel ripped off....do we had any standings legally? Or do we just pay the bill and move on?
Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks

The first thing you need to understand is that businesses mark up the price of a product in order to make a profit. This is true of a plumber, a mechanic, a remodeling contractor, or any service & repair related business. The price that any given business may charge for a product has nothing to do with what you can buy it for over the internet.

If you want to test this theory, go have a part replaced on your car at your favorite shop. Then go to a parts store (or the internet) and buy the same part over the counter. It is not uncommon for resale price to be twice that of wholesale. It is how businesses make money, so that they can pay their overhead, pay themselves, and stay in business.

If the business has failed to provide you with what you originally agreed to, you can always take it to small claims court. The burden of proof will be on you.

I tell you this not to discourage you, but because this is what I have learned in my own experience.

As far as the "feminine products", the "manufacturer" would not have had to find them, because they would have been visible to the plumber when he removed the pump. YOUR $400.00 pump, and HIS $800.00 one could be the same pump, it depends on how he marks up his costs. I do NOT leave the box, for just this reason.

It seems to me that you were looking for something to complain about. Online prices can differ greatly from what you can get in different locations througout the counrty! It also doesn't take shipping and handling, availablity and a mark up into concideration. He did give you a partail refund as well.

I have heard so many people claim that things like feminine products were never put down the drains and the story always changes once I pull them out of the pump and show them. Although I agree with HJ, the plumber should have seen this.

Sort of like the story my septic tank pumper told me. He opened a septic tank and found the surface covered with condums. He called the husband and told him they should NOT be flushed down the toilet. The husband said, "I do not use them".